The invention is generally related to electronic commerce, and more particularly, to on-line shopping. Consumers purchase various items on-line from merchant websites such as AMAZON.COM, EBAY.COM and other websites using a credit card or other form of electronic payment. Given the ease and speed with which on-line shopping can be performed, it is not uncommon for consumers to be more likely to purchase items on-line from the comfort of their homes or offices, particularly considering electronic payment is utilized for payment. As such, consumers may not appreciate how much an item actually costs since the consumer is not at the store and not paying with cash or writing a check, which may cause the consumer to better understand or appreciate the cost. Thus, consumers occasionally make “impulse” on-line purchases. They browse merchant websites, see what they want, and click a button to purchase an item, and can receive the item quickly at their door without ever stepping foot into a merchant store, and often times without paying sales tax and/or shipping costs.
Given the ease, benefits and speed of on-line shopping, consumers often fail to review their budgets or financial accounts, particularly since on-line transactions can be completed very quickly with a click of a button. Thus, consumers are not inclined to stop their on-line shopping experience and take the time to log into one or more separate accounts to assess budgets, credit card limits and/or fund availability. These extra steps are inconvenient and time consuming and are often not even considered by consumers when making on-line purchases, particularly when websites such as AMAZON.COM store credit card information such that consumers can simply select a previously used credit card for a purchase, further contributing to impulsive and speed of on-line purchases. On-line shopping can have an element of excitement such that the consumer is not interested in budgets or financial summaries.
Thus, consumers often experience post-transaction regret by realizing later (e.g., when the consumer receives a credit card bill) that an on-line purchase caused the consumer to go over budget or other financial difficulties. This after the fact accounting can cause problems and complications with consumer finances and budgets.